In the Middle of NowHere
by Savos
Summary: For Sheldon, his past was something he tried to keep locked away and hidden from everyone, and succeeded until now. The group of friends never though there would be something deeper behind the childish, obnoxious physicist, but old scars tend to eventually show up again, hurting much more than before.


The annoying sound of the alarm tore through Sheldon's room. The guy didn't really understand why he even set it up anymore. It seemed so unnecessary, just like a lot of things he did. It was all a part of the routine. Sheldon noticed that he would often wake up a few minutes before, and just stare at the bright red numbers until the loud noise jerked him completely awake. He had the same alarm for years now, the same loud buzzing sound that made you cringe. Leonard complained about it for a few weeks after moving in, but just like a lot of other things, he got used to it eventually.

Sheldon reached out grabbing the clock from the small night stand. The guys stared at the tiny black object in his hand for a few seconds and pressed the biggest button on top, filling the room with silence. He grabbed a small black container from his drawer, popping a tiny white pill inside his mouth and swallowing it without much effort. Lazily, he slid off the bed and headed towards the washroom, hurrying to get the bitter taste of stale saliva out of his mouth.

The physicist turned on the water, watching it run down the sink and disappear in a black hole. He looked up, looking at the messy figure in the mirror. Sheldon hated seeing himself like this; his eyes still half closed, hair in slight disarray bending backwards from hours of laying on it, an almost invisible fuzz on his chin. Honestly, the guy didn't like looking at himself at all, be it pictures or simple reflections. The way you looked seemed like such an unnecessary concept in a person's life, and yet it was paid so much attention.

Soon, the buzz of an electric toothbrush filled the room followed by an equally loud razor. Sheldon couldn't help but remember all the times he has cut himself while shaving. Making mistakes wasn't really a part of his life anymore, and for that, he was thankful. Maybe that just meant that he never tried anything new, but new was not really something he could put his finger on. The stupid dinner table was new. But that "new" wasn't even good. Or was it? Sheldon didn't care, it was different, and just didn't feel right. There was a reason why everything was planned, if only the world would plan with him.

The guy turned off the water, just to turn it on again in the bathtub. Sheldon took of his bathrobe and folded it neatly and put it on the edge of the sink. All his other clothes followed and he stepped into the steaming hot water that burned his skin slightly, leaving it flushed. The physicist adjusted the water calmly and exhaled, looked up at the slightly gray sealing, damaged by all the steam from the past eight years.

This day was not going to be good and he knew it. It was like a tingling sensation in his brain, telling him to just go back to sleep. But as always, Sheldon chose to ignore it. It was Sunday, the day of the week that just reeks of rest, when all the other people relax and catch their breath before the start of a new week. For Sheldon though, it was just another day. He was always up at the first break of dawn, always just slightly tired from the day before and the "adventures" his friends brought upon him. You can't expect the unexpected, after all.

Sheldon turned off the water, immediately feeling the chilly air brush against his skin. The tiles on the wall, which still didn't have the time to heat up during Sheldon's seven minute shower, seemed to almost radiate ice cold air.

The guy hurried to wrap himself in a towel and get dressed. He hated being naked, always feeling too exposed, to vulnerable, but that was just another story. Sheldon grabbed another towel, drying his head with it. His thin, short hair dried in the matter of minutes, and he styled it in a familiar fashion, brushing what was left of his bangs to the side. Sometimes, Sheldon would miss having longer hair, but this was what he had for the past nine years, and it was just right.

Sheldon opened the bathroom door and stepped into the dim hallway. There were no windows, and even though the sun was shining on the street, the space seemed to be dark, shadows lurking in the corners.

Sheldon stepped into the living room, squirming slightly at the overly bright sun outside. It was hot. Much hotter than he would have expected.

Even though the thermostat did a pretty good job at maintaining the right temperature, the world rarely cooperated. Sheldon would always look up the weather for the next day, deciding on the best course of action. He would open the blinds to let the wind seep through the small cracks in the window when it was hot at night, allowing the morning chill to enter the apartment. It was always colder just before the dawn, when the sky lit up in all shades of blue, orange and pink colors. Sheldon rarely got to see the true beauty of the Pasadena skyline, but he wasn't much of an art person. He would notice it on those crazy days when formulas seemed to pile up on top of him, making him stay up nights upon nights, but he would always turn away, focusing on the white board in front of him. The big window in the living room faced east, and sun was mercilessly shining through the glass. Weather reports would often make mistakes, especially in the summer, when the clouds cleared up overnight and Sheldon would find himself in the middle of the disgustingly worm apartment, with the blinds or even the window itself open, in hope of a seamless breeze, but ending up with hot, moist air drenching the room.

Today was one of those days. The world never cooperated. Sheldon closed the blinds, overlooking the busy street in front of him. It always surprised him, the street was so much quitter on weekends. As if people really had nowhere to go. Nothing to do. Like the entire world decided to stop. People were fascinating.

Sheldon walked over toward the kitchen, removing his robe. It was so hot, and he could not possible eat in those conditions. He felt so weird, so open, wearing just his plain white t-shirt. Nothing on top of it, nothing underneath. You are nothing if not adoptable. Well, sometimes Sheldon though he was really nothing.

Grabbing the high-fiber cereal from the fridge-top, Sheldon poured it inside his favorite bowl, looking at the small flakes bouncing from the sides, calculating every trajectory they made. Sheldon couldn't help but smile weakly – physics was everywhere, in some form or the other. The guy grabbed the spoon and filled the bowl with milk until the white liquid reached a small sketch on the side, marking a proper serving. Everything was calculable, the world was based on math, after all.

Sheldon walked towards the couch, sitting in the familiar spot, turning on BBC America as Doctor Who opening credits started playing. The guy began to relax. Maybe this day could get better.

Or maybe not.

Sheldon heard a loud knock on the apartment entrance, making him turn his head towards the source of noise. He stood up in confusion, setting the uneaten cereal on the table. Without hesitation, Sheldon opened the door. Pasadena was a pretty safe city after all, and nobody would bother to commit a crime in the morning anyway. Chances were, it was just Penny having an early audition or something. Maybe she ran out of coffee or needed a ride, Sheldon didn't care too much.

Instead of the petit blonde, in front of him stood a somewhat familiar guy. The man was just as tall as Sheldon, he had relatively long light brown hair that enveloped his face from the side. He wore a fashionably worn-out blue-gray t-shirt and plain black skinny jeans, along with black converse and a dark jean backpack hanging from his back on overly loose straps.

The guy smiled innocently showing his straight white teeth, happiness blaming from his eyes, and without hesitation he pulled the confused, and relatively scared Sheldon in for a friendly hug.

"I can't believe I really found you."

**Well, hello everyone, thank you so much for reading. I wanted to make a Sheldon's past focused fic for a long time now, so here it is. Sorry I haven't put much of the story in this chapter, but I hope I can continue this very soon… Should I even?**

**Oh, and I always had a problem with the way we pronounce the word "nowhere". It's not anywhere…like it doesn't even exist. I think it's much better as "now-here". It's now, and it's here. Just like most of the things that happens in our lives, you know? Well, maybe I am crazy, maybe everyone else just is. **


End file.
